Dragon Ball 10 Strong Characters Who Started Out Weak

The Dragon Ball franchise emphasized the importance of training & determination through characters who started out weak and became powerhouses.

Every year marks the debut of hundreds of new anime series, some of which manage to become cultural phenomena while others are promptly forgotten, but it’s still extremely rare to achieve the level of acclaim that’s surrounded Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball. Dragon Ball has been influencing the shonen genre for decades now, and the series has gradually found ways to evolve and change with the times to maintain an evergreen level of relevancy.

It’s a common occurrence in Dragon Ball for new and powerful warriors to emerge, but the series also does exceptional work with individuals who initially pose minimal threats, only for them to eventually blossom into unbelievable fighters.

10 Granolah Manipulates The Dragon Balls To Become The Universe’s Strongest

Dragon Ball Super’s poignantly concludes with the multiversal Tournament of Power, but the series’ manga continues to expand upon the story with new powers and exciting villains. Granolah is the current antagonist Goku and Vegeta are stuck fighting against. Granolah is the sole survivor of the Cerealian race, and he harbors a dangerous rage against the Saiyans. Granolah is a standard warrior, but he engages in a temperamental arrangement with the Cerelian Dragon, Toronbo, to become the universe’s strongest fighter. The conditions of this wish number Granolah’s days, but he still grows stronger.

9 Cell’s Journey To Become The Ultimate Being Requires The Right Ingredients For Perfection

It’s become fairly common practice for the major villains in Dragon Ball to have to undergo several transformations until they’re at their “true power.” Many of these antagonists possess this latent strength deep down, but the situation that surrounds Cell is slightly different. Cell begins as a frail and imperfect being who must absorb the energy from others, specifically Androids 17 and 18, to gain perfection. There are numerous opportunities to dispose of Cell before he becomes whole, but they all go squandered, and the Z Warriors ultimately need to face him at his most dangerous.

8 Krillin’s Development As One Of Earth’s Strongest Humans Naturally Plays Out

Individuals who have been around since the original series, like Goku and Krillin, literally mature from children into adults with their own families. Krillin is introduced as an unscrupulous human who’s more willing to resort to tricks to become stronger than put in genuine work.

Master Roshi establishes strong ideals in Krillin, which he never abandons. Krillin is still weak in comparison to a Saiyan, but his strength in Dragon Ball Super is on a whole other level than where he begins, and he’s able to proudly fight for Universe 7 in the Tournament of Power.

7 Powerful Saiyan Blood Runs Through Cabba’s Veins, But He Lacks Proper Discipline

The introductions of multiple universes spices up Dragon Ball Super in a number of exciting ways, but one of the biggest changes that it presents is the addition of new Saiyans from Universe 6. Cabba, Caulifla, and Kale all come with admirable fighting spirits, but they lack formal training. However, Vegeta and Goku are able to instill the right values in these impressionable warriors and help them drastically improve. Cabba and his Universe 6 companions master Super Saiyan 2 and nearly cross that threshold in record time. Without Universe 7’s help, they’d still be stuck at weaker power levels.

6 Lord Slug Is On His Way To Extinction Until He Acquires His Youth

The Dragon Ball Z feature films have a mixed reception due to how they largely exist out of canon, but they still showcase some very entertaining battles against creative villains. The fourth movie, Lord Slug, is considered to be one of the more regrettable movie efforts, but it stands out with its evil Namekian villain. Lord Slug is after the Dragon Balls so that he can wish for his youth to be restored. Lord Slug accomplishes this, but it’s not until this change occurs that he’s a real challenge to Goku.

5 Janemba Doesn’t Become A Serious Threat Until His Demonic Transformation

Janemba is a memorable movie villain who’s gone on to gain a deeper appreciation through Dragon Ball’s video games and the Super Dragon Ball Heroes promotional anime. When people think of Janemba, it’s actually his improved form, Super Janemba, who’s on their minds.

Janemba’s first form is a rotund yellow demon who’s not much of a challenge at all. It’s only when Janemba progresses into his more demonic Super Janemba form that he’s truly dangerous and requires the fused efforts of Gogeta to be pushed into submission.

4 Uub Is The Reincarnation Of Greatness But Still Requires The Right Mentor

Uub contains tons of potential, and he feels like one of the Dragon Ball series’ bigger loose threads that they may or may not decide to explore in greater detail. Uub was born as the reincarnation of all of the good energy that was inside of Buu. This gives Uub arguably greater potential than any other character, which Goku recognizes and tries to properly foster. Uub can achieve greatness, but it’s not until he receives training from Goku that he’s able to properly apply his powers and understand what lies inside of him.

3 Turles Doesn’t Stand Out Until He Consumes the Tree Of Might’s Fruit

The third Dragon Ball Z movie, The Tree of Might, is significant for the fact that it brings forward a new evil Saiyan, Turles, who strangely looks almost identical to Goku, despite there being no relation between them. Turles and his Crusher Corps are decent Saiyans, but they’re still stuck at a remedial level that’s more reflective of the weaker warriors from Dragon Ball Z’s introductory Saiyan Saga. However, Turles receives an astronomical boost in power after he eats the fruit from the Tree of Might. Afterward, he’s able to properly beat down on Goku.

2 King Piccolo Has Aged Out Of Relevancy & Needs To Reclaim His Past

Demon King Piccolo is a major villain within the original Dragon Ball series, and he serves as the audience’s introduction to Namekians, even if it’s not yet clear that that’s what he is. King Piccolo represents the type of villain in Dragon Ball who is past their prime but confident that they’ll be able to rule the world if they can just reclaim their glory days. Demon King Piccolo strategically uses the Dragon Balls to reclaim his youth, which is when he truly begins to cause problems for Goku and company.

1 Goku Grows From A Curious Child To A Warrior With The Strength Of A God

To be fair, even when Goku is an infant, he still demonstrates suppressed power that’s stronger than the standard human, especially when he inadvertently turns into his Great Ape form. Goku is unaware of his Saiyan roots during his childhood, which means that the depths of his strength also remain a mystery to him. The original Dragon Ball depicts Goku’s progress as a fighter through intense martial arts training. The subsequent series dig deeper, and soon Goku is able to pull off unbelievable transformations, the latest of which elevate him to the level of a God.